Let's
get two things out of the way right off the bat. First off, in my
opinion NewClear Audio is a gimmicky name. Every time someone asks me
what amplifier I'm
using I cringe a bit and feel compelled to explain how I understand that
it's
a silly name lest anyone think I like it, or worse, somehow identify
with it. Perhaps it's
the inexorable linking of brand and identity that probably started with
Levi's,
was polished by the auto industry and has been all but perfected by
Apple Computer. But I wouldn't
want anyone to think I'm
the kind of person who would drive a Pinto or listen to a NewClear Audio
amplifier. I'm
more than happy to whip out my iPhone however, preferably while driving
a Porsche.

Secondly, if you are looking for an amp
anywhere near this price range you should consider this one. It's
good, really good, ridiculously good for the price. It beats the crap
out of my Music Reference RM-100 preserving all of the wonderful
musicality of the tube amp but bringing a solidity, lightning speed and
dynamics (micro and macro) that are simply beyond the MR's
capabilities. If your speakers can handle it, the enormous reserve of
power makes for a startling explosive presentation.

The sound of the NC1000L is effortless
and extremely nuanced, allowing the subtle shades of each instrument's
timbre to shine through. The effect is very emotional. After nearly four
decades of listening to high end audio gear it all boils down to this
question; do I enjoy myself while I'm
listening? Do I feel moved by the music and the musicians, is life being
breathed in to what I'm
hearing, and do the hairs stand up on the back of my neck? The answer
with the NC1000L is yes, yes, yes and yes.

Until my experience with the Spectron
Musician III Mk. 2 amplifier I reviewed in Issue 44, I was not a fan of
class D amplifiers. I hadn't
heard that many and none in my home, but I "knew"
they didn't sound good, everyone said so. The Spectron irrevocably
altered that perception, taking its place among the better amps I've
heard. Now, the NewClear NC1000L provides some serious competition at a
promotional price of $2950.

The NC1000L is a dual mono class D design
based on the B&O 1000ASP module. It delivers 500-wpc into 8 Ohms and
1000 into 4. It features a Lundahl input transformer, DH Labs silver
plated copper in Teflon internal wiring
and balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA
inputs. Selected components have been cryogenically treated.

The casework is substantial though fairly
plain by today's
sculpted standards. The aluminum billet faceplate and weight of the unit
lend a reassuring heft to the whole affair. A single blue LED in the
middle of an atomic symbol engraved into the faceplate lets you know it's
switched on and the power switch is located on the back of the unit,
right above the IEC power input. Class D amplifiers are known for their
efficiency and in my year with this amplifier I never felt compelled to
switch it off once. The case never became warmer than room temperature
even when driven hard.

At a tick over 14"
wide the unit is narrower than most making the back a bit cramped. The
right speaker terminals are sandwiched between the IEC power input and
the right XLR input leaving little room for the speaker cables if you
use spade connectors, as I do. Banana pins would be a better bet for
this particular configuration. The binding posts themselves are those
frustratingly fiddly plastic covered 5-way jobs and one of them stripped
while finger tightening it. I would pay a little extra for something
better in that department. After a bit of configuring I was able to get
a good bite on the spades of the right speaker cable and it has held
fast with no issues for nearly a year. The left was no problem as I didn't
have to contend with the IEC port. All that notwithstanding the
amplifier has performed flawlessly.

Lana Del Rey
is without a doubt one of my favorite new
pop artists in a long time. The title track from her debut album,
Born to Die (CD,
Polydor B0016425-02) is at the
same time soulful and seductive, plaintive and playful. She captures the
experience of life, love and heartbreak in a way that is both
emotionally truthful and universally appealing.

With the NC1000L driving my
Wilson-Benesch A.C.T. loudspeakers, her slightly rough and seductive
vocals are clearly distinguished within a complex mix. The album isn't
quite as present and real sounding as some of the high end female vocals
with which we are all familiar but the music has a raw emotional quality
that gets to me every single time. And this is where this amplifier
excels. It's
exceptionally clean without being analytical, it conveys the nuances of
the music with no edge or artificial sharpening that can distract from
the natural, organic sound of real music. It neither obscures details
nor highlights them.

Turning to some high resolution music,
Diana Krall's
"Peel Me a Grape",
Love Scenes (SACD, Impulse! B0002841-36), was enticing,
seductive, clean and articulate with once again, no trace of electronic
edge. Fully formed, round tones, floated fully intact from the speakers
with little sense that
they were being reproduced. The bass was punchy and articulate, tightly
controlled but not over damped sounding in any way.

The NC1000L makes a particular good mate
to speakers with what I call fast bass; speakers that go deep, stop and
start on a dime and have exceptional articulation in the lower
registers. The A.C.T. speakers are such an animal and with this amp the
visceral growl and purr of bass lines comes through in spades while
remaining distinct from, yet of a piece with the rest of the track..

Once again, the track was emotionally
engaging, producing goose bumps from a recording I've heard more times
than I care to count. The
piano, was nicely weighted and harmonically rich, the amplifier able to
flesh out the tonal
colors in a way I had never heard
before the Spectrons. The Spectrons may have a slight advantage in this
regard but I would say it's
too close to call from memory alone. That being said, I never once felt
I was missing out by not having the Spectrons.

Martin Taylor's "Georgia on My Mind"
from Linn Selektions
(SACD, Linn Records AKP 245), is
an exquisitely recorded, well performed solo acoustic guitar piece. It's
also a remarkable example of musicianship and manual dexterity. The
upper three strings of the guitar are fed into one channel and the lower
three into the other allowing Taylor to essentially accompany himself as
one might playing the left and right hand parts on the piano. The
difference being that (as far as I know) the guitar isn't
really designed to be played that way.

Taylor's
brilliant playing is literally spine tingling
and the measured, deliberate pace allows each note to reach down into
you and resonate until it tickles your monkey bone. The recording is
spacious and the NC1000L's
excellent retrieval of ambient detail works well with what's
on the track to create a very distinct sense of the original location. I
would have to give a slight edge to the Spectrons in this regard as I
found them to be even more specific in recreating spatial cues, BUT that
was using two of them in mono block mode and with the NewClear amp in
similar configuration, that gap would likely be closer if not eliminated
entirely.

I loved the way this amp presented
Nils Lofgren's "Keith Don't Go"
from Acoustic Live (CD,
Vision Music, Inc VMCD 1005).
I've
heard this track on many a system and it can range from exceptionally
holographic to nails on a chalkboard strident. The amp delivered all of
the shades of the steely guitar sound on this track, the sharp attack
rounded out by the woody harmonics of the guitar body. One of the things
I look for in a piece like this is the ability of the gear to preserve
the sharpness of the musical attack appropriately balanced with the
overtones of the particular instrument. Some gear emphasizes the attack
at the expense of the harmonics creating an exciting but fatiguing
presentation. Some gear blunts the attack, softening the presentation
and while it may lose some of the stridency it also dulls both the image
and the musical excitement.

The best gear, in my opinion,
accomplishes both, resolving both the hard edges and fleshed out
overtones. I have come to think that this is the result of the speed of
the gear, being able to start and stop quickly, and being fast enough to
track enough inner musical detail to present leading edges and overtones
fully and accurately without adding any distortion products to color or
blur the signal. The NC1000L acquitted itself admirably in this regard,
creating a compelling semblance of the real thing. Even the slight touch
of steeliness during the hard strumming towards the end of the song,
which as far as I can tell is baked into this track, did nothing to mar
the performance. There was never a sense of strain on this very dynamic
piece.

Cookie Marenco
is easily among the most talented producers and recording engineers
working today. She
recently sent me the 24K Collector's
Edition of The E.S.E. Sessions on CD and I had the opportunity to
compare it with the original SACD, (CD, Blue Coast Records BCRGO 1024),
(SACD, Blue Coast Records BCRSA 1012b), respectively.

With the NC1000L in the system, the
difference between the two versions was quite clear. The 24K version
more relaxed and natural sounding; more articulate with less edge, not
that I would have characterized the original as edgy. It had seemingly
greater micro dynamic
resolution, allowing the listener to hear finer gradations of tone and
volume. Individual voices
within harmonies were easier to
distinguish. The twangy metallic ring of the dobro
was very distinct and easy to
identify for what it is.

If you want to really see what your
system is made of, (and potentially damage the woofers of lesser
systems), get a copy of The O-Zone Percussion Group,
La Bamba
(CD, Klavier K 77017)
and play "Jazz Variants".
This percussion heavy CD has a huge dynamic range and places enormous
demands on your system, especially in the deep bass. The only speakers I
have heard that can fully reproduce the low bass drum whack on this
track with any semblance of reality and authority are the Hansen Audio,
The Prince v2s. What those speakers can do with this track is uncanny,
articulating what many other, even very expensive loudspeakers, turn
into an articulate thud by comparison. (And if you've
ever wondered what you get for $40,000 that you don't
get for $20,000, there it is folks.)

While the NC1000L didn't
put my Wilson-Benesch A.C.T.s into the same category as the Hansens,
that bass drum whack sounded more powerful and resolved than I've
ever heard it on my system and surprisingly good in absolute terms. The
track was alive and dynamic, never sounding compressed or confused. The
tympani was authoritative, the vibraphone percussive and clear and the
sound stage stable and well focused. It just goes to show what having
huge reserves of power on tap can provide.

Amplifiers have become a highly
competitive category over the last decade. They have come to sound more
alike than different as improvements in technology have somewhat
mitigated the impact of design compromises at each price point. That is
not to say that the least expensive amps now sound like the most
expensive amps, but the gap is closing and you can now get more for less
than ever before. I would venture to guess that for many audiophiles the
NC1000L is an ideal solution. Yes, I'm
not a big fan of the name, but in the end, who really cares. The binding
posts are a bit more of a bother but unless you are changing speaker
cables regularly that shouldn't
be an issue either. And a lot of other amps use the same posts, blech.
But the amp runs cool, is highly efficient and most importantly, does an
exceptional job of making music come alive in your listening room.
Highly recommended. Adam Goldfine

Thank you for lending your ears and
experience to hear the new and clear sound that we offer. Like you,
audiophiles and music lovers will find that the NC1000L reveals
previously obscured performance from their source/preamp/speakers. Let
the music begin!